World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji is a television series documenting a long-range multi-day expedition race in which teams race non-stop with little to no sleep over mountains, jungles, and oceans. The series is a revival of theEco-Challenge series first broadcast from 1995 to 2002.[1][2] The race took place inFiji in September 2019, and the television series documenting the race hosted byBear Grylls premiered onAmazon Prime Video on August 14, 2020.[3]
The race was contested by 66 teams of four from around the world. The race encompassed trekking by foot and traveling in various non-motorized forms of transportation, including paddling and sailing in anoutrigger,paddleboarding,mountain biking, andwhitewater rafting, requiring skills such asrappelling, climbing, andcanyoneering. No modern technology can be used in navigation, and only a map and compass were provided. Expedition problem-solving skills were required to meet any challenges the teams may encounter along the way. All members of a team must complete the race; should any team member quit or cannot complete the race, the entire team would be eliminated.[4]
The race was won by Team New Zealand, who also won the previous race held 17 years prior.[5][6] The winning team received a $100,000 cash prize.[7]
The race course covered more than 671 kilometres (417 miles) to be completed within eleven days with 66 teams from 30 countries participating in the race.[8][9] There were 31 checkpoints along the way split into 5 legs. Each of the first 4 legs finished at a camp where the team must rest for a mandatory 90 minutes.[10] Teams must recover a medallion in each leg, and they must also finish each leg within a specified cut-off time or they will be eliminated. The five stages of the race course were:
Ocean leg – From the starting point at the Draubuta Village on the main island ofViti Levu, teams moved down the Wainibokasi River on acamakau outrigger, and paddled or sailed over the sea for 65 km (40 mi). They reached the first checkpoint on the island ofLeleuvia, then moved on toOvalau, where they looped around the interior of the island for 20 km (12 mi) by foot before paddling back to the main island, along the way a team member had to dive down to the sea floor to retrieve a medallion. They moved up theWaidalici River inVerata for 30 km on a stand-uppaddleboard, before traveling onmountain bike for a 56 km (35 mi) ride to Camp 1 at Naivucini Village, the end of the leg. Teams must reach the camp at 4pm on the third day.
Jungle leg – This leg covered almost 100 km (62 mi) in three sections. First the teams traveled 12 km (7 mi) through the Waiga Canyon where they may collect a medallion, then they paddled down 45 km (28 mi) theWainimala River on a self-made bamboobilibili raft. In the last section the teams traveled on mountain bikes for 40 km (25 mi) to Camp 2. They must reach Camp 2 at Waivaka village on day 5.Rafting onNavua River
River leg – This leg started with 63 km (39 mi) of biking, followed by 30 km (19 mi) ofwhite water rafting on theNavua River, ending with 50 km (31 mi) of jungle trekking. For safety reasons, no team can tackle white water rafting during the night, and teams must stay at the check point until dawn before they can proceed to the river to raft. They can collect a medallion from the chief of Namuamua Village after the rafting section. For the jungle-hiking, teams may enlist help from the locals as guides or porters. This leg ended at Camp 3 at Lutu Village.Navala village, the camp for the Highland leg
Highland leg – The teams first trekked through the jungle to the base of Vuwa Falls, and climbed 1,000 feet (300m) up the falls to collect a medallion. They then swam for 9 kilometres (6 mi) in a series of cold pools above the fall. This was followed by a paddleboarding section for 16 km (10 mi) in over Monasavu lake before they trekked for 50 km (31 mi) in the highland to reach the fourth and last camp atNavala Village.
Island leg – The last leg started with a 77 km (48 mi) mountain bike ride, during which the teams needed to a rappel 60 m (197 ft) down the Qalivuda Falls where they picked up their last medallion. After mountain biking, they transitioned to a stand-up paddleboard 12 km (7 mi) down theSabeto River to reach the ocean. From the Lomolomo Beach they changed to an outrigger for a 45 km (28 mi) journey to their finishing line onMana Island.
An early lead was taken by Team Bend Racing, but one member of the team suffered fromheat exhaustion and the team dropped to the back of the pack to allow him to recover. Team New Zealand, consisting of team captain Nathan Fa’avae, Sophie Hart, Stuart Lynch, Chris Forne and Mark Rayward, then dominated the entire course. Other early leaders included Team Out There, Team France Expenature, Team Summit, Team Canada Adventure, Team Estonian Ace, Team Thunderbolt, and Team Tiki Tour, but along the way, navigational errors caused some of them to fall behind. The racers faced unexpected obstacles along the way, and heavy tropical storm forced the temporary suspension of the race for eight hours when water level rose to dangerous level in the canyon, although Team Estonian Ace was already trapped in the canyon.[10][11] Parts of the course proved challenging for many teams and some, such as Team Summit, suffered fromhypothermia after being immersed in the cold water for a long period in the mountain water. A number of teams were eliminated after failing to reach the camp before the cut-off time at each stage, the first to be eliminated this way was Team Unbroken. Others dropped out due to injury such as Team Onyx and Team Curl, or through illness caused by infections, while some dropped out through exhaustion due to the difficulty of the course.
The closing stages were contested between Team New Zealand, Team Canada Adventure and Team Gippsland Adventure fromAustralia. Although at some checkpoints the time differences between the leading and chasing teams were only minutes, Team New Zealand held on to their leading position throughout. Team New Zealand suffered a capsize of their outrigger requiring rescue in the last leg of the race; the organizers allowed them to continue the race after ferrying them to a nearby island and provided them with a new canoe. They managed to finish first, beating off challenges from the other two teams by over one-and-a-half hours.[12]
Each race team is composed of four competitors led by a team captain (TC), including at least one member of the opposite sex, with one additional team assistant crew member (TAC) who help their team when they reach the camp. Each team races under a single country's flag. All teams must pass assessment tests on the various physical skills required on the course, and team members are required to work together under extreme stress and fatigue to finish the race. Listed below are the 66 competing teams:[9]
